A SCULPTURE by Dame Barbara Hepworth has broken records to be sold for £6.19m at auction.

Titled Sculpture with Colour (Eos), and dated 1946, the piece was a leading highlight of Christie's Modern British and Irish Art sale on Wednesday evening.

Altogether, three sculptures by the acclaimed Yorkshire artist topped bids totalling nearly £12m.

Two further sculptures reached vast sums, with Figure (Sunion) drawing bids of £4.1m and Sea Form (Porthmeor) selling for £1.53m.

Barbara Hepworth's Sculpture with Colour (Eos), carved in 1946, on display at the Christie's in central London, ahead of its sale by the auction house in their Modern British and Irish sale

placeholder image — Barbara Hepworth's Sculpture with Colour (Eos), carved in 1946, on display at the Christie's in central London, ahead of its sale by the auction house in their Modern British and Irish sale

Dame Barbara, born in Wakefield, is considered one of the most important artists of the 20th century and is often credited with defining modern sculpture work.

Eos was carved from a single piece of pale Hopton Wood stone, and is said to be a strong example of Dame Barbara’s form.

It was also featured in a photograph of the artist taken by Lee Miller for Vogue in 1946 and recently appeared in the exhibition Hepworth in Colour which was held at the Courtauld Gallery in London.